Category: Featured Headlines
The Dairy Industry Must Act Faster to Keep H5N1 from Starting a Human Epidemic
Scientific American A mystery disease was ripping through the cattle in the Texas panhandle. In early March, roughly three weeks after veterinarians in the panhandle spoke about the first illnesses, one of us (Russo) texted a couple of veterinary colleagues in the thick of the outbreak a recent publication on how H5N1 bird flu was killing unusual numbers […]
Jun 11, 2024
Bird flu outbreak at dairy farms continue to raise concerns about virus spreading
PBS (Audio) The H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, is spreading among dairy cows. It’s been found in over 85 herds across 12 states and at least three farm workers have been sickened. While public health officials say the risk to humans remains low, concerns are growing. William Brangham discussed the threat with Rick […]
Jun 11, 2024
WHO Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in India
NTD The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that a case of human infection with avian influenza A (H9N2) virus, also known as the bird flu, was detected in a child in the West Bengal state of India. The patient was a 4-year-old child who recovered and was discharged from the hospital, according to […]
Jun 11, 2024
We Are Not Safe from Bird Flu Until We Protect Farm Workers
Time H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to rip across the U.S. In just the last few months, it’s infected at least three people—all dairy workers—while spreading among chickens and cows in dozens of farms across several states. Government officials and farmers have been responding to H5N1 since Feb. 2022 when the virus was […]
Jun 11, 2024
CNN Video An update on the current bird flu outbreak: it’s still infecting wild birds, mammals and now several farmworkers in the United States. The virus does not appear to be transmitted between humans, but can we prevent further spread? And what are public health officials doing to contain it? Immunologist and virologist Rick Bright has been […]
Jun 11, 2024
Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm?
KFF Stanford University infectious disease doctor Abraar Karan has seen a lot of patients with runny noses, fevers, and irritated eyes lately. Such symptoms could signal allergies, covid, or a cold. This year, there’s another suspect, bird flu — but there’s no way for most doctors to know. If the government doesn’t prepare to ramp […]
Jun 11, 2024
Study shows ‘not surprising’ fatal spread of avian flu in ferrets
CIDRAP Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study showing that the current strain of H5N1 (A/Texas/37/2024) avian flu was fatal in six ferrets used as part of an experimental infection study. The findings caused waves across the country, as ferrets are frequently used as an animal model stand-in for […]
Jun 11, 2024
As FDA urges crackdown on bird flu in raw milk, some states say their hands are tied
CBS News Officials in two of the three states probing their first cases of bird flu in dairy cattle this month said their hands are tied after the Food and Drug Administration pleaded with states to ramp up testing and restrictions on potentially infectious raw milk being sold to consumers within their borders. Wyoming, Iowa and Minnesota announced their […]
Jun 11, 2024
Raw Milk Containing Bird-Flu Virus Can Sicken Mice, Study Finds
NYT The results bolster evidence that virus-laden raw milk may be unsafe for humans. Unpasteurized milk contaminated with H5N1, the bird-flu virus that has turned up in dairy herds in nine states, has been found to rapidly make mice sick, affecting multiple organs, according to a study published on Friday. The findings are not entirely surprising: […]
Jun 5, 2024
Why the New Human Case of Bird Flu Is So Alarming
NYT/Opinion The third human case of H5N1, reported on Thursday in a farmworker in Michigan who was experiencing respiratory symptoms, tells us that the current bird flu situation is at a dangerous inflection point. The virus is adapting in predictable ways that increase its risk to humans, reflecting our failure to contain it early on. The solutions […]
Jun 5, 2024